East Palo Alto Fills the Space

Site for new stores

Photo byHenrietta J. Burroughs

Two New Stores
By Henrietta J. Burroughs
East Palo Alto Today
Posted: August 22, 2008

The suspense is now over. It has been officially announced and decided. Two new stores will be coming to the Ravenswood 101 shopping center. Sports Authority and Nordstrom Rack will share the 90,000 square foot space which was formerly occupied by Expo Design.

"We're excited." said Marie McKenzie, redevelopment project manager for the City of East Palo Alto. We have two new stores instead of one. We've been working with them for several months."

Not only will the space be filled after being vacant for three years, but jobs will also be gained by area residents. The two new stores will generate about 160 jobs and, with the current agreement that the City of East Palo Alto has in place with new retailers, it is expected that 30% of the new jobs will go to city residents.

Photo byHenrietta J. Burroughs
Site for two new stores at the Ravenswood 101 Shopping Center in East Palo Alto

The Ravenswood 101 site is managed by Regency Centers out of Seattle, Washington. In a statement released Thursday, August 21, Ryan Nickelson, Regency Centers senior manager of investments said, “We are very pleased that Nordstrom Rack has chosen to open at Ravenswood 101. We believe the addition of national retailers like Nordstrom Rack will enhance the existing merchandise mix at the center, making it a more desirable location for shoppers and future tenants.”

Nordstrom Rack and Sports Authority will open at the site in the spring of 2009. According to McKenzie, it will take at least six months for the whole process to be completed.

"We're hoping the stores will use East Palo Alto's name on their stationery, on their verbage, on their advertising," McKenzie said.